The Creation of Washington, D.C.
The Idea and Location of the American Capital
Description:... Bowling examines the conflict between vaguely defined agrarian and capitalist interests in Revolutionary America through the debate over a national capital. Tracing the issue from its beginnings in 1774 to the selection of Washington, D.C. in 1790, he argues that the final decision represented a major compromise between a slavery-based agrarian South and the commercial capitalism of the Eastern seaboard. In the process, the author describes the pivotal roles of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington, three slaveholding southerners who endorsed a mercantilist ethos. Though offering a less expansive account than Bob Arnebeck in "Through a Fiery Trial: Building Washington, 1790-1800", Bowling provides a well-researched book that better explores the conflicting interests which underlay the bitter debate over the federal capital.
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